Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

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Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by LadyGeek »

Posted over in the Bogleheads forum: Subject: New E-book for Millennials
Bill Bernstein wrote:Hi All:

I’ve come out with a starter retirement finance booklet for millennials that lays out what I think is the fundamental problem with an effective three-fund portfolio which, as we all know, is simple, but not easy.

It’s not easy, again, as we all know, because people’s plans get hijacked by, among other things, panic during market declines, the temporary success of their neighbors during a tech or real estate bubble, and the Wall Street noise machine. (Or, as that great investment observer Mike Tyson put it, Everyone's got a plan til they get punched in the face.)

This booklet, If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly, lays out the knowledge base that the young person needs to fortify themselves with to successfully execute a simple portfolio plan. It’s not the complete “course work,” just a road map, and prominently features Boglehead favorites. (Believing it tacky to plug my own overpriced books, I’ve intentionally left them out.)

It’s available for download in acrobat format at https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/290 ... ou_Can.pdf

Most folks, though, would rather read it on their Kindle or mobile devices. I’d like to simply give it away, but Amazon only lets me do that 5 days per 90 day period; otherwise it’ll cost the Amazon mandated minimum Kindle price of $0.99. Here's its tentative Amazon page:

http://www.amazon.com/If-You-Can-Millen ... +bernstein

That first free period should start tomorrow or the day after. I’ll leave the free pdf up, and will announce the “promotional” windows for the free Kindle download periodically on the board (assuming I actually understand Amazon’s policy properly).

PM me, please, if you find any typos.

Best,

Bill
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by poedin »

:thumbsup: and not just for Millenials.
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by George$ »

and +1 here

Thanks
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by Bylo Selhi »

+2 here.

I wish someone had written something like this when I was twentysomething.

P.S. I found some typos in the PDF that I'll report to Dr Bill.
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by always_learning »

+3
That's an excellent little book.
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by George$ »

Yes an excellent little book -
with many words of wisdom, like Bill's -

"Ninety-five percent of what happens in finance is random noise, yet investors constantly convince themselves that they see patterns in market activity."

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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by LadyGeek »

The Amazon (KF8 e-book) format is out: Subject: Free "If You Can" Kindle and .pdf eBook
Bill Bernstein wrote:Hah! Sorry, I'm not shipping out free Kindles. Not even the basic, wireless-only ones.

I'm new to the free/promotional file biz, and I've made a few mistakes, most importantly, accepting the DRM default on Amazon upload, which cannot be changed.

But, if I've done it right, here is a DRM-free version for those upset with having to wait two days (or pay $0.99) if they can't:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/290 ... C-v_0.azw3

Someone please let me know if it works.

Emergdoc, and everyone else, feel free to distribute the pdf and the above e-book file widely. I intend this as an eleemosynary undertaking.

Bill
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by Shakespeare »

The azw3 goes into Calibre fine and converts to epub.
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by hamor »

"Speculation is an effort, probably unsuccessfully, to turn a little money into a lot. Investment is an effort, which should be successful, to prevent a lot of money from becoming a little." Fred Schwed " Where are the Customers’ Yachts?"
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by BRIAN5000 »

Vanguard on Investing is very good.

https://advisors.vanguard.com/iwe/pdf/ICRPRINC.pdf
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by LadyGeek »

Possibly, but I don't think they'll read past the first paragraph on the cover page.

Here's a link to all of the free formats, from Bill Bernstein's website: If You Can
The booklet is available for free in acrobat, mobi, and Kindle formats. You can also download it from the Amazon Kindle Store. I'd like to give it away for free in that location too, but Amazon requires that I charge $0.99. If I say "Mother may I," though, I'm allowed to make the Kindle Store download free for 24 hours every now and then: the next two days will be April 20 and April 21, 2014, and I'll try to make additional free days coincide with media attention.
Last edited by LadyGeek on 17 Apr 2014 21:18, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by parvus »

Reading seems to be an acquired habit, sometimes a quaint anachronism ... :roll:
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by LadyGeek »

Free download from Amazon.com for May 4 and May 5. See: Subject: If You Can [free Bill Bernstein booklet for millennials]
Bill Bernstein wrote:Hi all:

In conjunction with some media attention, I've made my booklet for millennials free for May 4 and 5 (Amazon lets me do this for 5 days every 3 months; otherwise, honest, they make me charge the Kindle minimum of $0.99.):

http://www.amazon.com/If-You-Can-Millen ... +bernstein

And, as always, it's available in various free formats (tho not direct-to-Kindle from Amazon) here:

http://efficientfrontier.com/ef/0adhoc/2books.htm

Best,

Bill
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by George$ »

LadyGeek wrote:Free download from Amazon.com for May 4 and May 5. See: Subject: If You Can [free Bill Bernstein booklet for millennials]
Bill Bernstein wrote:Hi all:

In conjunction with some media attention, I've made my booklet for millennials free for May 4 and 5 (Amazon lets me do this for 5 days every 3 months; otherwise, honest, they make me charge the Kindle minimum of $0.99.):

http://www.amazon.com/If-You-Can-Millen ... +bernstein

And, as always, it's available in various free formats (tho not direct-to-Kindle from Amazon) here:

http://efficientfrontier.com/ef/0adhoc/2books.htm

Best,

Bill


Again thanks to L-G and Bill Bernstein - for this help - and the related
The recent NY Times article - "A Path to Retirement, for Those Far From It" - is welcome - with a snip from it -
“If I Can” is a snappy 7,000-word guide that doubles as a financial-education curriculum, complete with additional reading assignments and a lesson plan. He hopes to help people put away enough money and to invest it wisely enough so that their futures will be secure.

Like John C. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard, whom he admires, Mr. Bernstein views Wall Street as a largely parasitic enterprise that flourishes at the expense of ordinary investors. “You are engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the financial services industry,” he warns in the pamphlet. “Every dollar in fees and expenses you pay them comes directly out of your pocket.” He recommends using basic, low-cost index funds whenever possible.
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by LadyGeek »

The next free download from Amazon.com has been announced for June 16th. Subject: "IF You Can" free Monday, June 16
Bill Bernstein wrote:Hi All:

In case you or someone you know missed it before, in conjunction with MoneyMag online and Amazon, If You Can will be available for free Kindle download from Amazon from the book's webpage on Monday, June 16:

http://www.amazon.com/If-You-Can-Millen ... +bernstein

And, as always, it's available for free in .pff, .mobi, and .eupb from my website, tho it takes a bit of work to get the .mobi (Kindle) file onto your device. The links to the various files are near the bottom of this page:

http://efficientfrontier.com/ef/0adhoc/2books.htm

Best,

Bill
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by BRIAN5000 »

Rational Expectations: Asset Allocation for Investing Adults

New? but not free yet.

Rational Expectations is a clean sheet of paper in the wonky world of quantitatively based asset allocation aimed at small investors. Continuing the theme of the Investing for Adults series, this full-length finance title is not for beginners, but rather assumes a fair degree of quantitative ability and finance knowledge
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by Shakespeare »

Not free, but only $10. Now purchased and on my Kobo with the help of Calibre and Apprentice Alf.
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by LadyGeek »

The free e-book offer has been resurrected on the Bogleheads forum: Subject: "If You Can" book - Free Promo
Bill Bernstein wrote:Hi All:

I've once again got a free Kindle promo running for the next few days on If You Can:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JCC ... ext&sr=1-1

and, as always, the booklet is available in free pdf:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/290 ... %20Can.pdf

Best,

Bill
Here's the amazon.ca link: If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly eBook: William J Bernstein: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by Peculiar_Investor »

Posted today -- Kindle Specials On Four Pillars and If You Can - Bogleheads.org
Bill Bernstein wrote:From time to time, Amazon and McGraw-Hill put The Four Pillars of Investing on Kindle special for $1.99, but they never tell me about it, and I get complaints about folks missing out.

This time I got a week's advance notice: Four Pillars will go on Kindle $1.99 special on April 7, I hear.

Also, the If You Can Kindle is free today, 3/31, through 4/2, for those who want it on their devices. (The pdf, of course, is free all the time at https://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf )

Best,

Bill
I don't know if these apply on amazon.ca, no Kindle here. :oops: Checked amazon.ca and If You Can (Kindle) is free.
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by cashinstinct »

Amazon.ca page is confusing, they show $0.00 Kindle Unlimited, and written really small it says
"CDN$ 1.10 to buy"

I did a one-click order, and realized after that it was actually $1.10 CDN right now.

I don't mind since it's a great ressource and a small price to pay to support
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by longinvest »

Note that the book is also available for free on the author's web site:

http://efficientfrontier.com/ef/0adhoc/2books.htm
The booklet is available for free in acrobat, mobi, and Kindle formats; feel free to upload and redistribute these three files at will.
For those with a Kobo reader, it's pretty easy to convert the mobi version into a standard EPUB file using the Calibre open-source software.
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by LordMelbury »

What would be three equivalent funds for a Canadian investor?
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by longinvest »

LordMelbury wrote: 11 Apr 2017 12:27 What would be three equivalent funds for a Canadian investor?
It would be three ETFs such as: ZCN (Canada) / XAW (ex-Canada) / VAB (bonds).

There's a more detailed explanation in our Wiki: Three-fund portfolios.
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Re: Bill Bernstein - Free E-Book (for Millenials)

Post by Norbert Schlenker »

longinvest wrote: 06 Apr 2017 21:50 Note that the book is also available for free on the author's web site:

http://efficientfrontier.com/ef/0adhoc/2books.htm
The booklet is available for free in acrobat, mobi, and Kindle formats; feel free to upload and redistribute these three files at will.
FWIW those links are dead.
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